‘Chilling’: Graham Norton discusses ‘worst ever guest’ on his talk show
Graham Norton has finally revealed the worst ever guest he had on The Graham Norton Show.
The talk show presenter, 59, was at an event in Dublin to promote his new book Forever Home, when he told the audience about one celebrity’s “chilling” behaviour.
The star in question was disgraced former Hollywood mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, who is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence.
Before dozens of women came forward with allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein in 2017, the producer appeared in an episode of The Graham Norton Show in 2015, with fellow guests David Tennant, Olivia Colman and Jessie J.
“I often talk around who my least favourite guest was, but someone reminded me, I have a really good answer to this now,” Norton said at the event, according to Joe. “It’s Harvey Weinstein. He’s in jail, so he gets the prize for the worst guest ever.”
Norton added: “And actually, it was weird, because he asked for my email. And he emailed me something very nice, a complimentary thing. And then he decided he wanted to be on the show because he was going to promote something.”
He continued: “And it was a show that was fully booked, so I replied saying, ‘Oh, thank you so much, but the show is fully booked.’ He emailed back, ‘What if I blah de blah de blah?’ ‘No, the show is fully booked, blah de blah.’
“And he emailed back again, ‘But I think…,’ and I just had to turn to my booker and say, ‘Can you please deal with this?’ And at the time, I thought that sort of attitude, that kind of, ‘Oh no, I’m going on,’ that is what makes you a very good producer.
“But of course, now that we know what we know, that is what makes him a predator. It was that kind of weird, tunnel-vision thing. And it was sort of chilling in retrospect, because I was just laughing at those emails. But you realise, oh my God, that is an insight into how that man is.”
Weinstein is currently imprisoned in California and is awaiting trial on charges he assaulted five women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills from 2004 to 2013.
The Graham Norton Show airs Friday nights on BBC One.
